"It was my idea to go up and do it. I couldn’t leave him hanging," Travolta explained by phone to USA TODAY on Wednesday. "I thought, 'I’m going to go and make something viral here. If (50 Cent) is going to travel 20 hours to get here, the least I can do is go up and hang with him on stage.'"

Travolta, who has boogied in movies from Saturday Night Fever to Grease, said he didn't have a name for the swaying moves he displayed on stage.

"The dance was just whatever I felt at the moment, it doesn’t really have a name to it," he said. "It’s just being cool, I guess."

Travolta was overcome with gratitude that 50 Cent had dramatically stepped in to perform at the Southern France afterparty for his mobster movie Gotti, which premiered at Cannes Tuesday. Travolta plays mobster John Gotti Sr. in the film directed by Kevin Connolly.

"I thought 'He’s telling all these people that he came all the way to France to kind of be with me. I have to go up and dance with him,' " Travolta recalled.

Originally it was supposed to be rapper Pitbull, who wrote the score for Gotti, on the afterparty stage.

“"The dance was just whatever I felt at the moment, it doesn’t really have a name to it. It’s just being cool, I guess."”

— John Travolta on his 50 Cent dance moves.

"But Pitbull got sick in Vegas and lost his voice, so he had to cancel," Travolta explained. "One of the producers knew 50 Cent and asked if he could replace him. (50 Cent) asked, 'Do I get to hang with John Travolta if I do that?' "

Wish fulfilled. The two made up for lost lifetime, hanging out at the Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere and then the Gotti premiere, for which 50 Cent gave a thumbs up.

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Hollywood has descended on the South of France for the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival. Jury president Cate Blanchett poses as she arrives Saturday for the closing ceremony. LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

Actress Asia Argento raises her fist as she arrives Saturday for the closing ceremony. She took the awards stage to give a blistering speech about Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul she's accused of raping her at Cannes. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images

John Travolta attends the 40th anniversary screening of "Grease!" on Wednesday."I’m anticipating singing along with the screening and dancing like everyone else," Travolta told USA TODAY. John Phillips/Getty Images

Filmmakers raise their arms and clap after Cannes jury head Cate Blanchett and other filmmakers read a statement on the steps of the red carpet in protest of the lack of female filmmakers honored throughout the history of the festival. VENTURELLI/WIREIMAGE

Lea Seydoux (left) and Kirsten Stewart with other filmmakers on the steps of the red carpet in protest of the lack of female filmmakers honored throughout the history of Cannes Film Festival. DOMINIQUE CHARRIAU/WIREIMAGE